NEM (XEM) is a blockchain platform and cryptocurrency which focuses on providing modular customization options for a multitude of different applications, including fintech systems, ICOs and tracking logistics. NEM achieves this in part through the use of their Smart Asset system, which comes with an interface that is compatible with almost any programming language.

The NEM project began on Bitcoin Talk forums, initiated by a pseudonymous user named UtopianFuture in 2014. The project began and the developers became the NEM.io Foundation in the process. Initial plans were to fork the NXT blockchain, but the developers decided on forming their own codebase from the ground up. The project was finally released in 2015.

In early 2018 the NEM network was the target of a hack which saw the loss of 523 million XEM coins – the network’s native currency. The theft was to the value of roughly $534 million. Instead of enacting a hard fork, NEM used tracking technology to trace the stolen funds with law enforcement authorities.